dying

(beret) + L (loser)
★★★☆☆
3 strokes
STRONG

Onyomi

BOU

Mnemonic

The loser died from losing a game of BOWLing with the Devil . . .and was buried with his beret on.

Kunyomi

( ) な*くなる a polite way of saying die, like the English phrase "pass on."
★★★☆☆

Jukugo

滅亡(めつぼう)

downfall ★★☆☆☆
(annihilate) + (dying) = 滅亡 (downfall)

the downfall of a civilization or the dying-out of a certain ethnic group. But it doesn't have 'downfall's moral judgement.

未亡人(みぼうじん)

widow ☆☆☆☆☆ FR
(not yet) + (dying) + (person) = 未亡人 (widow)

widow.I'm not including this because it's useful, but because it's one of the most spectacularly non-PC words: the literal translation is:'not yet dead person'!

Used In

Synonyms

downfall
没落    滅亡    崩壊    破壊    絶滅